No. 7 Falcons Win Overtime Thriller on Senior Night

MATTHEW, N.C – The No. 7 Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse team (8-1) rallied behind a ferocious comeback against yet another upset minded opponent as they upended the Catawba Indians (6-5) by a final score of 10-9 in overtime on senior night.

The Indians started the scoring first as they scored with 8:26 left in the first quarter. Just two minutes later, the lead was extended to two as Adam Hebert netted his first goal.

Pfeiffer did not see their first tally on the scoreboard until the second period when a goal by senior Elliot Gilbert cut into the deficit as they now trailed 2-1.

However, four unanswered goals by the Indians shattered any chance of Pfeiffer taking the halftime lead as Catawba led the Falcons 6-1 with just three minutes to play until halftime.

Pfeiffer responded with a goal by Tom Buckley to bring the Falcons to within four.

With 54 ticks on the clock, Catawba shut the door on the half with another goal, taking the 7-2 advantage into halftime.

With their backs against the wall versus their crosstown rivals, the Falcons came alive as five different players netted seven unanswered goals to take the 9-7 lead for Pfeiffer.

Tucker Hammock started things off for Pfeiffer as he notched his first goal of the game with 11:30 left in the third quarter. Robert Hope went on to score the next Falcon goal as the Indian lead was now just three. Quick goals by Spencer Allen and James Shepherd cut the Catawba lead to just one with six minutes to play in the third quarter. With four seconds left, Pfeiffer tallied their fifth unanswered goal of the period as Gilbert connected on his second goal and the one that tied the game headed into the fourth quarter.

The Falcons were not done there. Just 1:14 into the fourth quarter, Hammock scored his second goal of the night and the Falcons sixth unanswered goal as they now led the Indians by a score of 8-7. With momentum on their side, Pfeiffer put another goal in the net as Allen connected for his second goal to give the Falcons the 9-7 edge with ten minutes to go.

A game this good could not end without a fight as the seven unanswered goals did not phase the Indians. Catawba scored two unanswered goals to tie the game at nine with six minutes left in the game.

Neither team could find the game winning goal in regulation as we headed towards the Falcons first overtime game in two years.

In overtime, it was the senior Gilbert who notched the hat trick and the game winning goal for the Falcons on senior night as Pfeiffer won the nail biter.

Pfeiffer was led offensively by two seniors Gilbert and Allen. Gilbert completed the hat trick with his game winning goal in overtime and Allen finished the game with two goals of his own.

Pfeiffer returns to action Wednesday, April 2 as they play host to Mount Olive at 4:00 p.m.